Finalists for Orleans Parish schools superintendent to meet public Wednesday

Two finalists for Orleans Parish School Board’s long-awaited permanent superintendent have their last scheduled interviews with the board and will meet the community Wednesday evening.

The board members will interview Debbra Lindo and Henderson Lewis Jr. in executive session at a time and place not yet announced. That evening, the public will meet with the candidates at a reception at Alice Harte Charter School.

Lewis, a New Orleans native, is the superintendent of East Feliciana Parish schools and a member of the St. Bernard Parish School Board. Lindo is an educational consultant who lives in California; she retired last year as superintendent of the small Emeryville, Calif., school district.

Interim superintendent Stan Smith has held the position for more than two and a half years. The lack of a permanent leader has been cited as a marker of instability by several charter school leaders that chose not to return to the auspices of the School Board and remain in the Recovery School District next year. Of 36 schools eligible to return to local control, only two requested the transfer.

Lewis will meet with the community from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Lindo will follow, from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. Harte is located at 5300 Berkley Drive on the West Bank.

Marta Jewson covers education in New Orleans for The Lens. She began her reporting career covering charter schools for The Lens and helped found the hyperlocal news site Mid-City Messenger. Jewson returned to New Orleans in the fall of 2014 after covering education for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with majors in journalism and social welfare and a concentration in educational policy studies.

What excuse will the charter school leaders use next year? They will never – NEVER – say the real reason in public! Unless a charter board or a CMO (highly unlikely because these CMOs get more schools to run because they can be trusted by BESE, the RSD, etc.) runs afoul of the RSD, they ain’t going nowhere near the OPSB. 01/12/2015 4:33 PM

nickelndime

Ah, Debbra and Henderson! You’ve got to love these two. They looked at the OPSB and said, “Why not?” Then they each said, “Why not ME?” I say, “Why not both?” Some people say that Stan has had enough, but that he won’t be forced out by Ira Thomas. I say that I have had enough of Kathleen and it’s time for her to get a job with her friends at the State RSD. Kathleen has done enough favors for Sarah Usdin, so maybe Sarah can find a job for her at NSNO pushing paperclips or something. Just get her out of local education. Texas is a calling, Stan. You have enough money. It’s time to retire and go home. You have earned it. 01/12/2015 8:48 M